Tobacco Usage - Quit Attempt

An estimated 68.12% of adult smokers in the report area attempted to quit smoking for at least 1 day in the past year. This indicator is relevant because tobacco use is linked to leading causes of death such as cancer and cardiovascular disease and supporting efforts to quit smoking may increase positive health outcomes..

Report Area

Survey Population(Smokers Age 18+)

Total Smokers with Quit Attempt in Past 12 Months

Percent Smokers with Quit Attempt in Past 12 Months

Franklin County, PA

25,538

17,396

68.12%

Pennsylvania

2,119,015

1,277,684

60.30%

United States

45,526,654

27,323,073

60.02%

Note: This indicator is compared with the state average. Green - Better than state average, Red - Worse than state average.
Data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Additional data analysis by CARES. 2011-12. Source geography: County

Tobacco Usage - Quit Attempt

Data Background

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is

“... a collaborative project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. states and territories. The BRFSS, administered and supported by CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Branch, is an ongoing data collection program designed to measure behavioral risk factors for the adult population (18 years of age or older) living in households. ” Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services. Overview: BRFSS 2010.

The health characteristics estimated from the BRFSS include data pertaining to health behaviors, chronic conditions, access and utilization of healthcare, and general health. Surveys are administered to populations at the state level and then delivered to the CDC. BRFSS annual survey data are publically available and maintained on the CDC's BRFSS Annual Survey Data web page.

Methodology

Indicator percentages are acquired from analysis of annual survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for years 2011-2012. Percentages are generated based on valid responses to the following questions: "During the past 12 months, have you stopped smoking for one day or longer because you were trying to quit smoking?" Data only pertain to the non-institutionalized population aged 18 and up and are weighted to reflect the total county population using the methods described in the BRFSS Comparability of Data documentation.

Additional detailed information about the BRFSS, including questionnaires, data collection procedures, and data processing methodologies are available on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System home page.

Notes

Data SuppressionSuppression is used to avoid misinterpretation when rates are unstable. Data is suppressed when the total number of persons sampled (for each geographic area / population group combination) over the survey period is less than 20. Data are unreliable when the total number of persons sampled over the survey period is less than 50. Confidence intervals are available when exploring the data through the map viewer.

Race and EthnicityRace and ethnicity (Hispanic origin) are collected as two separate categories in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) interview surveys based on methods established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1997. Before the raw survey data files are released, self-identified race and ethnicity variables are recoded by National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) analysts into the following categories: White, Non-Hispanic; Black, Non-Hispanic; Multiple Race, Non-Hispanic; Other Race, Non-Hispanic; and Hispanic or Latino. Due to sample size constraints, race and ethnicity statistics are only reported at the state and national levels.

About

Our goal is to align resources and work together to improve the health and well-being of all Franklin county residents. Through the utilization of data, we can integrate practices and coordinate improvements that will provide collective impact, leading to positive change.